Some of the passages and quotes I ran across today are just what my characters needed to hear. This post is for the Parabaloni as they deal with book seven and eight.
Maybe you need to hear it, too.
The Scriptures are from the KJV, the quotes are from Parabaloni 8, Black Out.
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“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell… When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies… I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
- Psalm 27
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“We all know this world is an unpromising field for faith. According to our varied experiences, we must all subscribe to the declaration that this earth is, more or less, a valley of tears, that it is not our rest, for it is polluted. There are too many thorns in this nest for us to abide comfortably in it. This world is under the curse, so it still brings forth thorns and thistles, and in the sweat of our brows we eat our bread until we return to the earth out of which man was first taken. Were this world really to be our home, it would be a terrible fate for us. it would be sad, indeed, for us to know that we had continually to dwell where the shadow of the curse always lingers and where we have only the shadow of the cross to sustain us under it. But faith comes into this unpromising field and believes she will see the goodness of the Lord even here. She rushes into the fiercest fight that ever rages, fully believing she will see the banner of the Lord's mercy and truth waving even there. She bears the burden and heat of the earthly toil and expects to experience the Lord's faithful love beneath it all. She knows she will see more of her God in the land beyond the flood, but still she expects to see the goodness of the Lord even in this land of the living that is so distracted and disturbed with sorrows and cares, trials and tribulations.”
-C. H. Spurgeon on Psalm 27:13 (emphasis my own)
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Perry’s electrical system cut out. Darkness fell in the plane home and closed over the Parabaloni. Shreds of white clouds streamed past the windows like wailing ghosts. Pete heard the wails of the dead he had walked through on countless missions and felt his muscles tensing and his eyes drying as he stared, too afraid of what he would see if he closed his eyes for even a blink. And then the clouds were gone, and just darkness stared back at Pete. No lights showed the township he knew lay below them. Nothing but black.
“Oh Jesus say it again,” he murmured into the night. “Cause Your ‘Let there be light’ to ring through the dark. We are here. Use our tarnished old bones to reflect what You always are. Reach through this night again, Father, and save.”
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“Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name…”
-Amos 5:8
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“…That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world…”
-Philippians 2:15
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Peter and Vincent leaned against the alley and waited. The crowd surged, restlessness increasing at every moment. Pete looked up at the moon and the glorious stars shining down into the alley. It seemed so strange to see them like that here, in the midst of town. You usually only saw that kind of brilliance out in the wild places, where humans didn’t invade. Tonight, they burned with uncontested brilliance, in numbers that screamed for humanity to look up in awe. The filmy ribbon of the milky way snaked across the sky, billions of tiny dots of light shimmering and overlaying each other in a humongous dance lightyears away. Pete felt himself shrinking, his troubles suddenly so insignificant in the vastness of the universe, his own consciousness too small to take in the immensity.
“When our world goes dark, God’s lights burn even brighter.”
Vincent’s drawl cut through Pete’s thoughts, and the Saudi’s half smile curled over his face. He dropped his gaze to the tall friend standing beside him in the dark.
“And sometimes, Savant, the brightest light is encased in jars of clay.” Pete’s voice lowered to a husky murmur. “You bear the symbol of the sun for more than just your smile. Thank you for never changing, Vincent.”
“We all change, Pete,” Vince said. His eyes moved from the burning stars to the skinny young brother beside him. “But so long as we stay focused on our Son, the changes will always be for the better. I’ll keep holding that light up for you steer through the dark, Petey, promise. It’s easier if you do the same for me.” The Saudi nodded, and swiped a hand over his eyes.
“Promise,” he said, and it was all he felt he could say. But it was enough.
~~~~~
“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power…” - Psalm 147
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We have a present help. This old world can come at us in unrelenting waves that never seem to stop pounding. And yes, we have a hope that all will be redeemed and reclaimed and made new, and that is fact; firm, unchanging, an Anchor for our souls[1]. If you’ve read my Sojourners, you remember it’s that view of heaven that can make every day here on earth beautiful.
But when the pounding just keeps on, sometimes we need help on this day, too.
And we have that help. God didn’t just promise to save us[2]. He didn’t just promise all will be made new[3]. He promises He is with us[4]. Right here, right now, your God is with you. He is shaping and making and painting a masterpiece with the colors in your life. Reds and bright yellows might be your theme. Or there may be more dark shades than you would like. But know that God is an artist Who doesn’t make mistakes, and can use even the evils of this world to paint better things than happy little trees.
Our God is with us. He is a bulwark, a tower, and a conqueror too. His war is won. But he calls us to help finish the battles and add to His kingdom while we’re here. He grants us all the weapons we need. Don’t lose heart, brothers and sisters. Look at the stars, the undimmed moon, and the God who made them all.
Take faith, rush into the battle, and shine.
~~~~~
“I’m just going to ask it,” he burst out, “who are you people?”
“We are an elite team sent in to fix broken things,” Jojo said.
“Not enough people in the world to do that,” Colin muttered under his breath as he turned back to the window. Her eyes blazed into his back.
“Things will be fixed,” Jojo snapped. Colin spun back to her, his lip going between his teeth; he hadn’t meant his comment to be heard. “The heaven and earth will be made new, the curse will be reversed, and all will be a perfect paradise where God and man walk together. And that’s a future reality as real as the floor you’re standing on right now, Colin. What we do is bring a tiny glimpse of that to a world still breaking from the curse of pain and sin. Good people make a difference. It may be a small one in the face of bad odds, but we can make a difference. Don’t let the sorrow of the world overrun your hope. If you love Jesus, that hope is as real and firm as the sorrow, and it will win.”
[1] ”Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul…” -Hebrew 6:19
[2] “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.” -Romans 8:33
[3] “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.”-Revelations 21:5
[4][4] “…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” -Matthew 28:20